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Annabeth stood outside gazing at the blue sky and the snow-white clouds, trying to make sense of their shapes. She could hear the chirping of the birds in tune with each other as though singing a well rehearsed tune. After a while, she went to the barn and decided to get it over with. She setup the rope and got a stool to stand on. Suicide by hanging was the best she could come up with. She took a deep breath and readied herself to kick off the stool but heard someone coming in. Oddly enough, she waited.

Michael came into a view and seeing her, registered shock at the act she was about to commit. Recollecting himself, he calmly told her to get down. They argued back and forth about her actions. Anna having given enough thought to it, put up an argument that left Mike baffled. She had nothing to live for and no family or friends to spur her on.

Mike having carefully listened to her, suggested to her that if things were already as bad as possible, then perhaps it only gets better and said to give life a chance as it was favorable to those persistent. Mike eventually managed to convince her to forego suicide. He asked her name and they got acquainted with each other.

From them on, Mike devoted himself to Anna. He saw it as an objective as he was the one who encouraged her to keep on living. He spent time with her, provided an ear for her troubles and a shoulder for her to lean or cry on. Over the years, they became so close and attached that Mike often wondered how he lived without knowing her prior.

7 years on, Mike got a call from his friend with the police that Anna had been involved in an accident and had died shortly after. Mike was devastated and couldn't think straight. He had been finalizing plans to propose and marry her soon. He grabbed a beer and went back to the very same barn than Anna had tried to commit suicide years ago. He grabbed a stool and sat, staring at the spot they had first met.

Drinking his beer in large mouthfuls, he couldn't help the tears that freely rolled down his cheeks. He wondered if he had really done the right thing in stopping her then. It occurred to him that he never actually asked how she felt about life after that. She often seemed happy but he couldn't he sure if that wasn't just a facade. It was indeed a cruel world and as the beer began to seep in, he was convinced it was a stupid thing he did.

A few days after, mike was given her diary by the state after her belongings had been sorted. Reading through her entries, he got some answers. Life hadn't gotten any easier for her but she had become more happy and had more self worth. His name came up often in the diary as her 'hero' and she had been anticipating marriage and raising a family with him as well. The tears came pouring down all over again but he took comfort in the fact that for once, it seemed he had done the right thing, atleast Anna seemed to think so.

Once Upon A Time there lived a Mother. This mother was a sublime beauty. She once gave birth to two children. One was a Boy and one was a Girl. Slowly they started growing. They learned that ONE PLUS ONE IS TWO. They learned that Day precedes Night and Night comes after Day. They learned there was a Sky and there was an Earth. They learned of the moon and they learned of the Sun. One dressed in White the other in Black. One used the Heart to guide himself in Life, one used his Mind to prepare himself for Death.

Mother died one day. The two were left without the ONE. The cosmos was waiting for them now. And so now they changed! The boy was now a girl, day became night, night became day, the earth was up and the sky below, one day the moon rose in the morning and the sun came up at night, the second one was now white and the first black, the heart was used by the other to welcome death and finally the other - other one used his mind to guide him in LIFE.

A Tale of Ancients and Moderns, of the Wealthy and Poverty ridden ones, a Tale of Two, A tale of doubles, a tale that has two ends, a double standard to write a story about Two that while being Double were still as Dual by Duality standards and Twice the Pair of the two already when one was one and the other also one.

How? Asks the writer, yet he himself wrote the story he is asking about. What did he learn? What did you learn? What did THEY learn? What is grasped by the senses is by purity aesthetic what the mind catches in it's frequency is without a doubt metaphysical. A Good ending and a Bad one. Which ones does he choose? Do they DIE or LIVE!

A marriage! A marriage! A marriage of TWO?! Yes, logic is indeed a fine tool to use when in a dilemma, it is difficult to have TWO. Split them apart of combine them? A child will play and will without a doubt go for harmony. What will he do with the TWO of them? Marry them! The universe revolves around two halves, one is always searching for the other and the other for the former.

Two things guide our cosmos into existence - LOVE AND HATE! One can not live without the other and the latter can not live without the before mentioned one. Together as Mother always said you will live like sister and brother! Together you will inherit the rich land and seas. Impossibility is not a luxury for the learned ones, in fact the foolish have already merged the opposites before the Academy can even find out who they were. It is not those that love talking about the World, but those that enjoy staying in it that will be granted the Truth!

The writer put down his pen and went on to join Mother in eternity, while Mothers children also lost their Father when he decided to join her.

Comment:
Rewritten the lyrics to Castle on a Cloud from Les Mis, parodying Ghibli's Castle in the Sky. It's one of my favourites from the musical ever since we sang it in the choir many years ago, and the immediate impression back then was: "Laputa!" (One of my first Ghibli's.) Song sung from Sheeta's POV instead of Cosette.

The original lyrics are here:
There is a castle on a cloud,
I like to go there in my sleep,
Aren't any floors for me to sweep,
Not in my castle on a cloud.

There is a room that's full of toys,
There are a hundred boy and girls,
Nobody shouts or talks too loud,
Not in my castle on a cloud.

There is a lady all in white,
Holds me and sings a lullaby,
She's nice to see and she's soft to touch,
She says, "Cosette, I love you very much."

I know a place where no one's lost,
I know a place where no one cries,
Crying at all is not allowed.
Not in my castle on a cloud.

Comment: Didn't really like anything I came up with over the past weeks. In the end I had to rush this just now lol. Was gonna make JS Bach the subject in the first place, but the idea was scrapped and everything was replaced by anime stuff.

Dear Diary,
I was finally planted today! The farmer was kind enough to make sure that I was nice and snug in my new bed before he covered me in a blanket of nutrient-rich soil. The best part is that my brothers and sisters were planted close by to me so I won’t be lonely. I think I’m going to like it here.

Dear Diary,
There was a storm today. As soon as I felt the fat raindrops, I recalled how my mother would always remind me to always drink a lot of water to be big and strong so I started gulping them right up. I drank so much that I thought I was about to burst! Satisfied, I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

Dear Diary,
Today is the big day! Today is the day when I leave my home. I've changed a lot since the day that I was planted. I used to be a pipsqueak, but now I'm plump and enormous. Who would have thought? I felt Mr. Farmer grabbed me by the hair as I braced myself and yanked me out of my home. Boy, did that hurt! My head still feels sore just thinking about it. He then nestled me in a crate, where I found myself reunited with my family and friends. After he was done with his harvesting, he put us in his truck.

As he revved up the engine, I nervously asked the others where we were heading. A nice carrot told me that we were heading to a place called a “Farmer’s Market”, where he's going to sell us. I’d heard of that place; it's where the best of the best are sold and the rest are brought back home. I pray that I got chosen!

Dear Diary,
The Farmer's Market was packed! Several vendors were already there when we got there. Mr. Farmer's setting us up right now so we look "presentable". He placed us next to some of our relatives so I got to talk to some of them. The yellow onions were sweet, but the red onions had a sharp tongue. The green onions were polite, but they wanted to keep to themselves. The garlic must’ve be in bad mood because they snapped at me. On the other hand, the leeks and chives were very mellow while the shallots seemed so graceful. Overall, it was a nice family reunion.

Dear Diary,
I got chosen today! A woman was looking through Mr. Farmer's goods when she started going through the onion section. I watched her anxiously as she picked some of us and prayed that she'll pick me. Just as I was thinking that, she suddenly stopped and picked me up! I held my breath as she examined me. Finally she nodded as if satisfied and placed me into her basket. Thrilled, I felt like I've died and gone to heaven. But then I realized that I would no longer see my family. As she walked toward Mr. Farmer, I tearfully said farewell to them as I'm begin my new life.

PS Oh, I eavesdropped the lady's conversation with the farmer. While she was paying him, she complimented him for his crops. He thanked her and asked her what she was planning to do with the products she bought. I don't really remember what she said, but I do recall her saying that she intends to make onion rings. I don't know what they are, but they sound interesting!

Dear Diary,
I learned the meaning of true pain today. At first I didn’t know what was going on when the lady started peeling me and laid me on the wooden board so I waited though I felt self-conscious about my naked body. All of sudden, I felt an intense pain as something cold and sharp sliced through my flesh. As soon as that happened, I started to cry. The person who cut me must have felt bad because she started crying too. Despite the pain, I remembered what my mother said and forced myself to be strong as she continued cutting me.

Dear Diary,
Everyone said that I was delicious. My life is now complete.

When I came out of my egg, the first face I saw wasn’t my mom's. It was this fat mustache guy, with a red cap. He said he would take me with him in his adventures, and that he needed my help, that others like me had helped him and his brother before.

“We’ll rescue a princess”, he said. “You’ll see how beautiful she is. But there’ll be many enemies waiting for us”

Some people said he was a plumber, but I never saw him working. Yes, I was born in a strange world, where pipes come out of the ground, but they never needed any fixing, they were working just fine. Everything was about the princess... and the terrible fellow that kidnapped her.

I thought it would be an amazing adventure, like a fairy tale, but it was just wishful thinking. Not only the terrain was treacherous, with huge cliffs and dangerous seas, we also had to fight all kinds of beings. Except, we were not always in danger. Some koopas and goombas would just be there, walking, sometimes not even noticing us, but we would crush them anyway. Stomping, throwing fire, using their own bodies against them.

I had to battle too. I was inexperienced, never knowing when to attack. So he started to punch me in the head in the right time. “It was my cue.” I would swallow some of the smaller enemies, more than my body seemed it could take, but my body was a natural weapon, he used to say.

I started to pay attention to what others had to say about my companion and leader. About what happened to the ones like me who had helped him before. And those weren’t pleasant stories.

“He fell from a cliff, the poor little one. It got scared when something hit them and ran without noticing the end of the path.”

“There was that one he threw from the cliff too. It was a gap so big that to cross it the poor thing was sacrificed. The plumber jumped from his back and let him fall.”

Maybe one day he would do something like that to me. He was already beating me to fight the creatures in the way, what would stop him from letting me fall from a cliff? The thought was consuming me, but whenever I ran away, he would always get me. I was a mount, never walked my own way, never knew which way to go. He knew this world more than me.

One day, we found a lot of koopas while crossing a field. Getting closer, I noticed they were different from the ones I knew. Yellow. Blue. Red. Why did they have different shell colors? The plumber didn’t make anything out of it, he just proceeded to jump over them as he did with all the others.

Suddenly, he jumped from my back straight on a blue shelled one and smacked it. Then he got the shell in its hands and threw it towards the others. The shell hit a pipe and came straight back at us. He jumped over it, letting it come in my direction. So fast.

My cue.

That was all I could think of.

I opened my mouth and grabbed it with my tongue. I don’t know how I had the strength to stop it and hold it. But while I was thinking about what had just happened… my body... it changed.

When I saw the wings, I knew. It was the shell, giving me another cue. That I could go away and he wouldn’t catch me. It didn’t matter the path, I could just fly.

And I did.

I knew I couldn’t let the shell go, that it was because of it that I could fly. But after sometime, it became difficult to hold it, I started to feel nauseated. I had to swallow it... or let it go. In the end, I swallowed it and fell to the ground.

I was in another island, with no bridges nor constructions, just trees. I looked around and there were lots of creatures there. Creatures I knew from the time I traveled with him. But they wouldn’t attack me. I was just another animal, just like them, a normal living being with no enemies or obligations, ready to live my own adventure. Free.

He used to say my body was a natural weapon. I say it is a natural blessing.

I got up and got dressed.
I am.
Yes, I am here.
It seems as though I have been doing this for a while now. I am. I am. I am. One day I have to walk out naked. It's beauty, it's art! I am alone. Will you be my friend? It's dark, no, wait, I can see something.

In the house across the street.

I am happy. Where is my sword? Where is the blade?! I need to cut these walls. I am shallow, I am a re-written message. I am useless. What is that? What am I? Die bunny! ... I have announced my victory over the stuffed rabbit toy. I am pleased. Please be my friend again and do not make me stab you, or cut you, let me love you. No, let me hug you!

It's a room. It's boring. I am thirsty.
It's gone.
It's not here.

In the light.

"Was that you?" - said one.

"Yes it was." - replied the other.

"How rude." - he spoke for second time.

"Are you alright?" - she spoke again.

Walking through the light.

"It appears as those two were from planet Earth. How interesting. I never heard this story before. She was in love with herself and he just wanted to destroy things. They call them male and female. But it seems that's the way it's going to be?" - a voice was heard.

"I guess, they are going to have to learn to live with one another." - another one was as well.

"I am going to slap you both! You ignorant fools! They are not apart, they are together. Look!" - the third one crushed the melancholic chit chat.

Naked and War

Alas, it seems we have found out what it means to stay together. One of them like the light. One of them liked the blade. It seems one of them liked being naked. One of them liked war. So one of them was naked and one of them was with the blade and they decided to connect by cutting the light with the sword. All was well.

It's hard to have a slumber,
Especially when all you can get is a nightmare.
It's hard to fight in the darkness,
When your only weapon is consciousness
It's hard to risk everything on what you see,
And failed to recognize the reality.

I sleep because I want to dream,
Dream about you or the triumph of my favorite team.
Interact to those who passed away,
Or just see unexpected things and play.

I don't care on what they say
To be with you is what I always pray.
And in my dreams it was granted
To be with you my beloved.

After Huginn and Muninn told Odin that if he wants to bring back Baldr his son to life he must go to Helheim in Niflheim. Odin who wanted to bring back Frigga and Nanna's smile and end their suffering and mourning followed what his ravens told him. And so Odin together with his horse, Sleipnir ventured to Helheim, home of the dead.

Odin reached Vanaheim. There he met a dying Vanir. The Vanir asked Odin to give him one leg of his horse, sleipnir. Odin used his spear, Gungnir to cut one leg of his horse. Odin gave it to the dying Vanir. The Vanir ate the leg and he become healthy again. As exchange for the leg the Vanir predicted Odin's future. "Go back to Asgard and abandon your travel for you may not comeback if you continue." the Vanir said. Odin ignored the Vanir's words and continued his journey riding Sleipnir, who loss one leg.

Odin reached Alfheim. Gullinburtsi, Freyr's boar's golden bristles are losing light. Freyr asked Odin to give him one leg of his horse, sleipnir. Odin using his spear cut another leg. Odin gave it to Freyr. Freyr fed Gullinburtsi the sleipnir's leg and the boar's golden bristles gleamed like the sun again. As exchange for the leg Freyr gave Odin his ship, Skidbladnir. The ship is so huge that it can easily carry all of the gods of Asgard. The ship can also be folded and carried easily. Odin accepted the folded ship and continued his journey riding Sleipnir, who now loss two of its legs.

Odin reached the Bifrost, the rainbow bridge and went to Midgard. In a village in Midgard, Odin met villagers that are starving. Their village was attacked and ransacked by Frost Giants. Odin cut another leg of Sleipnir and fed it to the hungry villagers. The villagers thank Odin and gave him a whetstone. Odin left the Village and promised that he will protect them from Frost Giants. Odin continued his jouney riding Sleipnir, who now loss three of its legs.

Odin reached Jotunheim, home of the giants. Odin killed every Frost Giants he met along the way. Because of that his spear, Gungnir became worned out. Odin used the whetstone that the villagers gave him and Gungnir's sharpness came back. Odin went to Mimir's well of wisdom to have another drink. Odin sacrificed one of Sleipnir's legs. Odin continued his journey riding Sleipnir, who now loss half of its legs.

Odin reached Svartalfheim, home of the dark elves. The dark elves murky underground are collapsing, because of that sunlight came bursting to the murky underground where they live and turn some of the dark elves into stone. One of the dark elf, a mare asked Odin to help them. The mare promised Odin that they will not cause troubles and nightmares again if Odin will help them. Odin helped them and gave them one of his sleipnir's legs. The dark elves used the sleipnir's hoof to fix their home. Odin left and make sure that the dark elves will be true to their promise. Odin continued his journey riding Sleipnir, who now loss five of its legs.

Odin reached Nidavellir, home of the dwarves. The dwarves were the once who made and gave Odin his spear, Gungnir and many other weapons of the gods of Asgard. Odin realized that he did not give anything to dwarves in exchange for his spear. And so he gave one of Sleipnir's legs to their king, Hreidmar. Hreidmar decided to cook the leg's flesh and use the bone to forge a new weapon. Odin left Nidavellir after paying his debt. Odin continued his journey riding Sleipnir, who now loss six of its legs.

Odin reached Muspelheim, the land of fire. Surt saw Odin and warned him that he will attack Asgard at Ragnarok, the end of the world. To prevent Ragnarok, Odin decided to fight Surt. Surt fought using his flaming sword while Odin used his spear Gungnir. Odin successfully defeated Surt. His spear was melted in exchange. Odin used Surt's flaming sword and cut one of the remaining legs of sleipnir. Odin used the blood from the leg to extinguish the land of fire. Odin continued his journey riding Sleipnir, who now loss seven of its legs.

Odin at last reached Niflheim. As the world tree Yggdrasil grew up into the sky, it stretched one of its three large roots far into Niflheim, and drew water from the spring Hvergelmir. The dragon Nidhug was not around. Odin noticed that the root became short and is now unable to reach the water from Hvergelmir spring. Odin cut the remaining leg of Sleipnir connected it to the root so the root will be able to reach the spring again. Sleipnir died and Odin forgot the purpose of his journey. Odin walk through the misty, cold, and dark land of Niflheim hoping to remember the purpose of his journey. Odin reached Helheim. Odin met Hel. Hel immediately ask Odin if he wants her to bring Baldr to life. Odin remembered the purpose of his journey. Hel demanded Odin's Gungnir and Sleipnir. But Odin already loss them. Odin told Hel about how he loss his spear and his horse. Hel was touched by Odin's story and granted Odin's wish with no demands. Odin thanked Hel and immediately went back home riding Skidbladnir, the ship that Freyr gave him. Baldr came back to life. Frigga' and Nanna's smile came back and they live happily ever after.

Mattie cried out in despair as she kept pulling at the door, which didn’t budge. Tears rolled down her rosy cheeks as she pounded angrily at the door. Why? She was so close! Approaching footsteps told her that the others were coming. Sure enough, Mattie turned around to see that the all of the vampires had formed a semi-circle, blocking her way. They stared at her with their sick smiles and bemused look in their eyes. Suddenly, some of them parted, allowing Balthazar to walk through. In his hand was the rose that she dropped. He stopped a few feet away from her and smiled triumphantly.

“Did you actually think I was going to let you leave this place?” Balthazar sneered as he looked around the room. That was when it hit Mattie. No wonder he had locked the door and closed the window shutters! It was to prevent anyone from escaping. “Now be a good girl and come here. I promise I’ll make it as painless as possible.”

Mattie felt sick in her stomach. Her back was pressed hard against the cold, wooden door. Was there no way to escape her fate? No, there was only one option left. Tightening the grip on the letter opener, she pointed it at her neck. “No, I rather die than became a vampire,” she declared. When Balthazar tried to take a step forward, she threatened, “Don’t you dare come near me! I’ll stab myself if you do!”

Balthazar hesitated. No doubt he didn’t expect this outcome. Mattie felt a little relieved; with her life on the line, she knew that the vampire didn’t want to risk losing his potential wife. All of sudden, he grinned.

“Go ahead, kill yourself,” he declared nonchalantly. “It would be a much better than going back to your mundane life. At least you don’t have to deal with your drunkard of a father and a mother who only views you as a hired hand. You don’t have to worry about being hungry or trying to earn enough money to take care of your family. If you’re dead, then you don’t have to continue living as a poor, country girl slowly wasting her life away.”

“However, if you join me, you don’t have to worry about anything. I can give you whatever your heart desires: money, jewelry, anything! You name it, and I’ll get it for you. Remember how you told me that you want an education? Well, I can teach you everything that you want to know… and much more. I promise that I will take good care of you and make sure that you’ll never suffer. If you join me, you don’t have to worry about becoming old.” She jerked her head up at that revelation. “That’s right, Mattie. Once you become like me, you will never age. You can stay as that young and beautiful woman for all eternity. So what do you say? Would you rather kill yourself and waste your potential? Or would you rather join me in a life of luxury that you can enjoy until the end of time?”

Mattie’s mind was in a whirlwind. Live a life of luxury? Never have to deal with her unbearable parents ever again? Not to mention Balthazar had promised that he would dote on her and make sure she was well-taken care of. The thought of being forever young was also tempting as well. Imagine all of those snobby girls’ faces when they saw how youthful she still was while they grew haggard and dumpy! Wasn’t what she always dream about all her life?

Clang! She didn’t notice that she had dropped the letter open on the floor as she stared blankly right in front of her. Even though she knew Balthazar was right in front of her, she couldn’t see him. Nevertheless she could hear him come closer to her. Brushing the hair off her neck, he placed the rose in her hand and whispered in her ear, “I knew you would come around.”

My mother is not staying at home right now with us because her aunt requested her assistance since last year. I hope she will be able to spend the holidays with us together with our whole family and relatives here in Cavite.

My father who's getting old is now having a hard time with his job. He may not show it but I think he's lonely because my mother is not around. I hope he'll feel better and that my mother's aunt will let my mother to stay with us again as soon as possible. I miss having a mom around.

My brother is in his rebellious puberty age. Help him overcome this stage and hopefully he will do the right things.

Thank you for giving my grandmother a good health. I hope I can buy a gift for her this Christmas.

Please let my Aunt Macaria to stay longer. Hope she'll have a better health. Her family needs her. And her grandchildren are still too young.

I'm in my last semester of my 4th Year of College. I hope I will be able to pass all of my subjects and graduate in time. I hope to find a job as soon as possible to help my family. I don't rush things about having a girlfriend. I hope she'll come to my life at the right place and at the right time. I will love her forever whoever she may be, our future kids and grandkids as well. I wish to live long enough to love and take care of them all.

I wish for good health to my family and friends. I hope our love to continue and never die.

Thank you for all of the blessings we received this year, the past years and the years to come.